DIY questions, noob stuff, etc

[flamekiller]

Hey all, first post and all that jazz. (Sorry, skipped out on an intro thread! )

I've got a backpacking trip coming up soon (no set date but I have almost a two week window in which to fit a 4-ish day trip before school starts up again), and of course I'm planning on bringing my hammock instead of a tent. Be warned, I'm about to ask a ton of questions that have probably been mostly asked before.

Since I'm a starving college student (ok ok, my fiancee feeds me pretty well, but I'm still on a tight budget), I was hoping to find a Chinook tarp or something like that. Guess who has them in stock? You got it; nobody. I'm thinking my next best (in the end, maybe even a better bet) is to pick up some silnylon from Noah and make my own tarp.

How do they ship, by the way? Are they quick? They certainly where in response to my email, which is always a good sign. I think I read somewhere here that they typically ship on a roll (maybe this is just for larger orders?). Would it be financially beneficial to me to ask them to just fold it and put it in a small box?

I've found a bit on DIY tarps here, but some questions remain unanswered as of yet. I like the instructions on Ed Speers' site. It looks simple enough (I haven't worked a sewing machine in years), so that's a bonus. I noticed in his instructions, the seam between the two pieces appears to run transverse, whereas a handful of the DIY tarps I've seen here have a ridgeline seam running end to end. Is there a particular advantage to one or the other for getting a good pitch?

I read in another thread there's a bunch of proponents of straight edged tarps here, but I know there's also a lot of proponents of catenary-cut edges. I understand this helps with a taught pitch and dealing with wind. Am I correct on that? Is the extra hassle worth it for a first-timer? Are cat curves significantly more difficult to hem/bias tape, or is it just a little more time-consuming?

I'd also like to be able to pull the tarp ends closed. Can this be done effectively with a rectangular tarp, or do I need to look into a hex shape?

Moving on to my underquilt conundrum: first of all, I have a down sleeping bag rated to 0 F that I plan on using (unmodified; I'm not cutting my only 4-season bag to make an UQ!). I typically sleep fairly warm, but certainly not hot. I have a Therm-a-rest Tech Blanket that I was thinking about using, which is probably not going to be nearly warm enough on its own. My current thought is to mod it with a layer or two of ~6 oz Climashield or something like that - essentially using the covering I already have. I see Insultex is pretty popular as well, but I haven't been able to find a supplier for that. Any thoughts on this idea?

In any case, cost is of primary concern (obviously falling behind staying warm and dry, but that should go without saying). I'm willing to take a bit of a weight penalty to save money right now. I know the saying "buy nice or pay twice" rings in the halls of this forum, but nice is certainly out of my budget right now.

Hang details:
ENO Doublenest
Just ordered some Whoopie Slings last night (shipped this am already; thanks Opie and anyone else involved!)
Hiking companion:
Muttus Poundus (black lab mix)

Thanks in advance for your help! Hope I didn't dump too many questions out there!

[goodcaver]

1) You definitely want your tarp ridgeline running end to end... that is,from one tree to another. Less sag that way.
2) putting catenary or catenary like curves in a tarp isn't very much trouble, just measure carefully draw carefully cut carefully. If you're worried about it, just do a straight hem. You can always come back and cut the thing smaller later.
3) It will be easier to create doors with your tarp ends with a rectangular tarp. You can just stake the ends together closely on either a rectangular or a hex.
4) You're covering a wide range of temperatures with those insulation options on your UQ. What are the low temperatures you will encounter? Tech blanket might do it for down to upper 50s in the evening... two layers of 6 oz climashield would get you down to zero! Think about what you need, and then you can insulate properly.

[flamekiller]

Thanks for the reply.

Looking at the extended forecast, I'm expecting maybe low 40s at night. That much Climashield does sound like overkill.

I tried to test the thing out last night (light breeze, mid-50s maybe?) and just keeping it square under my hammock was an epic fail. Note to self: accessory cord makes a bad UQ suspension system. I ended up sleeping normally in my bag.

[SilverbackBob]

Where the heck are you in Washington that you can't find a tarp? It's so bloody rainy that EVERYBODY sells tarps! If you're budgeting, and there's no major rainstorms in the forecase, just grab a blue tarp on the cheap and string it up over you.
Staying warm in Washington's mostly about moisture control. Down to about 15 degrees, I just lay on my 0-degree bag and put a synthetic quilt on top and have no warmth issues. I think you'll be just fine.

[flamekiller]

I might give that a go tonight ... sounds like a good idea. I was comfortably warm in the sleeping bag last night; maybe a few cool spots on the pressure points. But I also had an epically poor hang with bad angles (hung from the underside of my parents' deck using tubular climb-spec as suspension so the stretch was horrible, makeshift SRL was just about useless, and I couldn't get a flat lay no matter what I did). Still, factoring in not having a warm bedmate, I still slept more comfortably than I do on a flat bed, and certainly more comfortably than in a tent.

And I live in the Tri-Cities. No such thing as rain here.